Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly good
Review: For a generic-seeming Hollywood blockbuster, The Last Samurai was remarkably true to its subject matter. My main concern walking into it was that the director would confuse the code of the samurai with western ideas about courage and honor, disregarding the more morbid side of the tradition to present some sentimental parable about discovering yourself or being good. In fact, though, the samurai ethos is treated with enough depth, the acting and pacing is excellent, and while there is some sentimental nonsense, it restrains itself more than most films do these days. The final battle is especially impressive - the choreography, the way that deaths of important characters are treated, and some of the images which arouse real pathos.It's still nothing spectacular, though - it never really risks saying anything that hasn't been said before, or presenting some image which hasn't been seen before - but it's probably as good a movie as we could expect to be produced for a mass audience.
Rating:
Summary: Samurai is full of exciement
Review: When I rented this, I made sure my family wasn't home, because my younger siblings weren't allowed to see rated R fims. But this movie is, in my opinion, good for the whole family, if you don't mind, bloody action sequences. The fighting choreography was brilliant. All the actors play their parts really well, and after each fight, you are left hanging for more. One part I didn't like, is when they are breaking Katsumoto out of jail, and soldiers are shooting the guns, at Cruise and other Samurais, the soldiers hit one person, while the samurai's arrows hit their mark every time. This kind of takes the essence away from stronger weapons. Other than that this movie was spectacular, story wise and action wise.
Rating:
Summary: Quasi-historic costume drama
Review: They're Eastern costumes, mostly, but still costume drama. The situation, the final wresting of power from the last of the feudal lords, is historically true. The movie's story, however, involving the American gone native, is synthetic. It's a good movie. It addresses the Japanese culture with knowledge and respect. It brings to life one of the defining moments of Japanese history, possibly the one moment that marks the start of modern era. The costuming and architecture are beautiful. It presents the bushido, the samurai ethic, as an all-consuming force in the lives of the samurai themselves but also in their families. Still, I have reservations about semi-historical movies. Takamori's final battle is an historical event, and this presentation of it is fiction. Lord knows that Americans need more exposure to world history and that this flick is an enticing way to present it. Still, the movie blurs the line between fact and fiction, between entertainment and events as documented. As much as I like the movie, I don't think that it serves history very well.
Rating: 
Summary: Tom Cruise At His Best!!!!
Review: I am not especially a big Tom Cruise fan but this was an EXCEPTIONAL Film. I can see that a lot of time and effort went into the making of this wonderful film. This action packed film keeps you on the edge of your seat and will also tear at your heart. It is a must have for all serious film buffs and dvd collectors. I will watch this film again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Shogun Lite
Review: First of all, I did enjoy the movie and was able to understand the basics of the Samurai culture since I just finished Clavell's "Shogun", which is one of the best books of all time. Shogun also focuses on a Westerner (in the 1600's) who gets unintentionally embedded into Samurai culture and how he learns their ways and embraces it. My main complaints of the movie are: It doesn't spend enough time educating viewers on the Samurai. It glosses over the suicide (or seppuku) ritual to make it look like forced homicide. In reality, sometimes it was forced but in many cases it isn't. It also doesn't explain what 'ronin' are or what ninjas, who appear in the movie, truly are. My other complaint is the typical anti-western liberal slant the movie takes. Samurai were one of the most ruthless, oppressive people in all of world history who placed little to no value on human life. The movie ignores this fact and focuses on the positives only, such as the beautiful art of fighting, dedication to perfection, and the ultra-cleanliness of the Samurai. 'Westerners', in typical modern fasion, are portrayed as the brutal killers and genocidal with no redeeming qualities. In reality, if Samurai still ruled today, Japan would be considered the one of the top violaters of human rights. Overall, the movie was enjoyable. Tom Cruise was good, the Japanese actors exceptional, and the fight sequences believable. It could have used another half-hour to build on the ways of the samurai (both good and bad, such as boiling people alive).
Rating:
Summary: entertaining but not brilliant
Review: This is the story of Lt. Algren (Tom Cruise), scarred emotionally by his Civil War experiences, who is coerced into training the Japanese emperor's army in Western fighting techniques as they prepare to fight Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), a traditional samurai who is against the emperor's adoption of non-traditional ways. In a skirmish, our hero is wounded and rescued by the samurai, who cares for him through the winter. When it comes time to return to his post, Algren is not sure where his loyalties lie. My husband and I watched this film, and while I liked it better than he did, I agreed with his criticism that the script was poor -- overly cliched and unimaginative. The acting was excellent all around, though I had trouble believing Cruise as a Civil War veteran; he is so much a modern man that hearing him utter formal language is a bit jarring. Watanabe did a terrific job, for which he received multiple nominations as Supporting Actor, and everyone else was great, as was the direction (Edward Zwick) and cinematography. The script was sometimes painfully bad, however, which detracted from this otherwise enjoyable film. There are many dvd extras, including a director's commentary and various featurettes about the making of the film. The film can be heard in English or French, and subtitled in English, French or Spanish. You will probably like this if you enjoy historical films, Tom Cruise or samurai films.
Rating:
Summary: The Japanese Spirit
Review: As a Japanese person, I watched this movie with much skepticism. I expected many stereotypes etc. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was an intesting twist how it took a "outsider" to convince the young emperor to make the stand he made at the end. Even Katsumoto wasn't able to do that. I think the emperor was reminded of the Samurai Spirit, ironically by a Westerner. The scene near the end, with the new machine guns from America, depicts with new beginning of modern Japan. It was sad to see how easily the Samurai was defeated. 1 by 1 like bowling pins, these greate warriors went down. It's as though they saved the "best" for last. So to me, those machine guns symbolized the modernization. I thought Katsumoto's character was great but thought Cruise's character was needed to complete the story. The "Seppuku", or suicide, is not an act of cowardice. It is an act of honor. It was considered the honorable way to die. It depicts the deepest dedication of the Samurai. You see this in the modern world today. Maybe not to this type of extreme. Sacrifice oneself for the love of country isn't so far fetched an idea. I think this world could use a little bid of that code of honor...
Rating:
Summary: Expected to hate it -- loved it!
Review: A lot of reviewers wax philosophical as they describe their reasons for disliking the movie -- not historically accurate, an offense to the Japanese, an offense to Western culture. I'm pretty well read with friends of all ethnic origins, and I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. It's a simple story about a man's struggle to belong and regain his honor through helping others. Tom Cruise did his usual good-quality job, and the rest of the cast was outstanding. The real star of the movie is the allure of a simple life.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie, but nothing special
Review: The Last Samauri is a good movie, beautifully filmed and well acted, yet it really does nothing to make it stand apart. Tom Cruise is a captain in the US army haunted by his own actions in the wars against the US. native Americans. He sells his services to Japan to train Japanese soldiers to battle the savage samurais. Cruise is captured after one battle and his life is spared after Ken Watanabe's character sees Cruise fight bravely and kill his brother-in-law. The best part of the film is the hour or so that Cruise spends living with the Samurais. He lives with the family of the man he killed and the kids grow to like him and the beautiful wife learns to accept him. The Samurais learn from Cruise and Cruise begins to train with the samurais and becomes friends with Watanabe. Cruise is released and the end of the movie results in Cruise fighting with Watanabe against the Japanese army. The Last Samurai seems like a Japanese version of Braveheart, with epic battles and valiant characters. This movie did show a lot about the Japanese culture, including the practice of killing yourself if you are shamed (Which is incredibly stupid thing to do in my opinion). I enjoyed this movie. It doesn't break any new ground in the epic battle genre, but it is still fun to watch.
Rating:
Summary: The Way of the Warrior
Review: Forget the oversimplifications in some negative reviews about "the Evil West" and the "white man playing this part), for many reviewers are so caught up in looking at Hollywood's left or enthocentrism leanings, they are missing the more beautiful aspects of the film. This movie focuses on the positive aspects of traditional views and living pitted against unchecked modernism/materialism. And except for a couple of silly, overly sentimental scenes, the director Edward Zwick, largely delivers in telling the tale of redemption. Tom Cruise as Capt Nathan Algren brings in his usual performance. He is neither outstanding or poor, but he is effective and unlike other movies where he has overacted (Born on the Fourth of July), he here is stable and is enjoyable to watch (however, his best performances in my opinion is Minority Report). Ken Watanabe is simply outstanding! He provides a strong anchor to carry this movie along. The fight/battle scenes are exceptional and fall a little short in epic style to Gibson's Brave Hart. If one can concentrate on the redemption of Cruise's character and the changing of people's attitudes towards each other, then one will come away from this movie with a great experience; however, if one is only their for the action, or to criticize the so-called left leaning message or to use this movie as a propaganda against the West, then they will also miss the most important part of this film: Capt Algren's redemption. The film score works very well. The film does fail in articulating the Bushido code fully, because it relies to heavy on a visual style and the characters should have dialoged about this way of life further. The ending is, however, sappy. All in all, this is a good movie with a lot of energy and beauty.
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